


Voltron: The Other Stories

by mongoose_bite



Series: Crunchy's fic [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 02:05:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16693357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/pseuds/mongoose_bite
Summary: Voltron fics originally posted on tumblr. Pairings and applicable AUs are listed in the chapter titles.





	1. Keith/Lance Canonverse

They found him, as Keith always expected they would, because he knew he’d do no less for them. They were Voltron, they were a team, and they’d always had each other’s back. So he was a little banged-up, and Red would need repairs, but honestly they’d had worse.

  
So he was a little unprepared for the look of sheer relief on Lance’s face. No jokes about getting lost, nothing about how he needed Lance to rescue him just a kind of weak, unhappy smile that twisted the corners of his mouth down.

  
Lance was weird after that. Keith would have said moody, but that didn’t really capture it; if anything he was less moody, less of himself than usual. It was really more Shiro’s job to keep everyone’s heads in the game, but Keith had the odd suspicion all of this had something to do with him specifically.

  
Why Lance couldn’t channel his angst in a healthy direction and beat up a few training bots was beyond him, but he supposed he’d give talking to him a try, so if it blew up later he could at least say he’d attempted to smooth things over.

  
He found him in one of the common areas, spread out to take up most of the couch, his head tipped back as he stared at the ceiling.

  
“That last mission really got to you,” Keith said, because fuck subtlety. “I didn’t know you cared that much.”

  
“I don’t,” was Lance’s flat response.

  
Keith shrugged. “Okay, I tried.” He turned to leave.

  
“I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I care. But you’re fine. We’re all.” He threw his hands up dramatically. “Fine.”

  
“So what’s eating you then?”

  
He waited so long to speak Keith thought he wasn’t going to answer. “We had to fight while you were gone. Nothing bad, I guess. But without you, man, it made a real difference, you know? And.” He was scowling at the floor. “Everyone knows you’re a better pilot than me, and that’s okay I guess. But what if.” Deep breath. “What if I’m not good enough? What if all this is just dumb luck, or bluffing, and I let everyone down. I was a cargo pilot until you left.”

  
Keith thought about it for a while. “I don’t really remember you from the Garrison,” he said. “I don’t know what your flying was like. But you’re not cargo class any more.”

  
Lance raised his head warily. “Yeah?”

  
Does my opinion really mean that much, he wondered. It was a strange thought, slightly giddying.

  
“Ask Shiro if you want.”

  
Lance got to his feet and stretched, yawning, like he’d been napping, and he looked more like his usual self again. “Naw,” he said. “If you say so, that’s enough for me.”


	2. Keith/Lance Post-canon AU

Keith went back to his shack, when all was said and done. When they let him. He accepted visitors, if they were on the guest list, but mostly he was just waiting to see what would happen next while he worked out what he wanted to happen next.

Months later, he still wasn’t sure.

He was overhauling his hoverbike; a favourite pastime of his when he wasn’t actually riding it, when he heard the hum of an approaching engine. He wiped his greasy hands on a rag and went around the front of the shack to watch the approaching cloud of dust for whatever might emerge from it.

To his surprise, it was Lance. He’d bought himself the latest model, and Keith had to admit those years of fighting the Galra had given him an easy confidence on the bike. A confidence everywhere really.

He brought the machine to a purring stop and Keith noticed he had several bags on the back of it.

“Hey, how’s my best buddy doing?” Lance beamed at him. Right, he wanted something.

“Fine,” Keith said.

He invited him in anyway, and didn’t mention the bags. He expected chatter, endless updates on Lance’s life in the spotlight. The books, the consulting for the movies, the interviews on late night TV. Keith had watched a few, had actually been crowbarred into appearing on one himself.

Silence.

Lance accepted a drink with thanks and sat on Keith’s rather saggy couch with a dusty sigh, and said nothing at all.

Keith went back to work on his bike, and eventually Lance joined him, choosing a spot in the shade by the side of the shack.

“I’m tired of talking,” he said quietly.

Still fiddling with the innards of the bike, Keith replied, “Stay as long as you like.”


	3. Keith/Lance Canonverse

“I’m only happy when it raaaains,” Lance crooned, and glanced sideways at Keith to try and judge what effect his performance was having. Hard to tell really with their helmets on, and he wondered if Keith had actually muted him.

He did like rain, but it wasn’t so much fun when you were stuck in a space suit, and Shiro’s instructions to keep in communication at all times meant they had to leave their helmets on.

They trudged on through the dripping forest, and at least the exotic plant life did make a nice change from the interior of the castle, or the endless black of space.

“Hey, stop.”

Keith stopped and looked at him. Not muted after all then.

“Let’s take a break. We can shelter under that tree-thing.” They’d been walking for ages and still hadn’t found the source of the strange readings.

“Okay.”

Once they were underneath they took their helmets off and Lance gave a great sigh of relief. No more drops of water impeding his vision, and he breathed deep of the moist air. Smelled good. “That’s more like it,” he said. “It’s so nice to be in an unregulated atmosphere for once don’t you think?”

Keith just stared out at the rain dripping off the ends of the foliage. The air was so humid there was a sheen of moisture on his skin, and the ends of his hair were starting to curl. As Lance watched a drop of water landed on his cheek and he blinked in surprise, but didn’t wipe it away, letting it slide down his face until he could lick it off his upper lip.

Oh. Oh no. No no no.

That’s not fair.

“Ugh,” Lance said, jamming his helmet back on. “I’m sick of this, let’s get going. The sooner we find this thing the sooner we can get back to the castle.”

“I thought you liked rain.”


	4. Shiro/Lance Canonverse

Hunk had to have been in there for at least half an hour. He wasn’t as enthusiastic about training as Lance was. Lance himself wasn’t all that enthusiastic but he wanted to have at least a chance of beating Keith at some point, and he’d been putting in some extra effort.

Keith hadn’t seemed to notice, but Shiro had, and his praise was almost as motivating.

Hunk had declared he was done for the day and Lance decided he’d follow him as soon as he was done with the shower. Only it had been ages and Lance could still hear the water running. Seriously? He could go back to his own quarters and use the facilities there, but that would mean crossing the castle all sweaty and disgusting.

Lance was pretty hungry by this point. All this exercise worked up an appetite, even for green goo. He glared at the door for a few moments but the water kept running.

“Dude, I know you’ve got more to wash than the rest of us but this is ridiculous.”

Hunk chuckled, his voice distorted by the sound of running water. So he thought it was funny did he? Well, fuck it. Lance was done waiting.

“I’m not waiting any longer,” he announced, barging in. “We’ll just have to share.”

“If you insist,” Shiro said.

Oh. Fuck. Hunk must have left when he wasn’t paying attention.

It should have been easy. A simple ‘whoops, thought you were Hunk’ and a swift exit would have sufficed. It wasn’t _pride_ that had Lance tugging his shirt off over his head, piling his clothes next to Shiro’s workout sweats.

This was a terrible, awful, unspeakably bad idea and Lance had a lot of bad ideas but Shiro had _dimples_ above his arse and now Lance knew that he’d never be able to un-know it. He was miserably aware of every breath Shiro took as he shuffled into the shower and stared at the wall.

“All yours,” Shiro said, what had to have been only a few minutes later, but might as well have been hours. Lance hadn’t managed to drown himself in the meantime, although he’d considered trying, and then Shiro was leaving, to Lance’s great relief and equal disappointment.

The door hissed closed at Shiro’s back and Lance slumped against the wall and considered for all his haste to get into the shower, he was unlikely to leave it for a while yet.


	5. Allura/Lance Tourist AU

Of all the places he’d been to in Europe so far, Barcelona was his favourite. The wide streets, the palm trees and the sunshine reminded him of home, and the architecture was dazzling. He’d taken so many photos.

He was wandering through Ciutadella Park, with all the other tourists, tossing up whether or not to visit the zoo, and wondering if he could find some ice cream when he saw what might have been the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.

She was tall and her legs went on for miles, and that great mane of white hair couldn’t possibly be a natural colour at her age, but it contrasted beautifully with her dark skin, and if he’d been at home Lance would never have had the stones to approach her. She was looking a bit lost, chewing on her lip as she stared at her phone and then looked about her. Lance might have been a tourist himself, but he could speak Spanish, and he’d been here nearly a week.

If she was lost, he was sure he could help. And if she rejected him, he was in a completely foreign country and no one would witness it.

He put on his best smile. “Hello,” he said, guessing English would serve him better than Spanish. “Are you lost? Can I help you?”

“Oh, I’m not lost.” Her eyes, even behind her sunglasses, were dazzling.

Crap. He’d guessed wrong. Try something else or she was going to walk out of his life forever as the one that got away (along with all the other ones.) “That’s good! I’m glad,” Lance said. “Are you visiting? Would you like me to show you around?”

“Oh, you’re a guide?” she asked. She sounded amused and Lance preened; he passed as a local!

“There’s no charge,” Lance said. “It’s enough to share this amazing city with lovely visitors.” He was probably taking a job from an actual guide, but given what he’d seen of Spanish guys so far, they’d probably forgive him.

She chuckled. “Okay. I’ve got some time.”

“Really? Oh, um, I’m Lance, by the way.”

“Allura.”

“Well, follow me.” She was watching him quite attentively, which meant he couldn’t google anything. Well, he’d wing it.

“So this uh, a statue of a mammoth. Obviously! I was built to commemorate Hannibal crossing the Alps!” Why the fuck was there a statue of a mammoth in a park, Lance wondered.

“Oh, it’s lovely. Would you take my picture?” She handed him her phone and posed in front of the beast. Oh, who cared, Lance loved mammoths now.

They wandered on.

“And here we have some fountains. These are some of the oldest water features in Spain, and they’re actually built on the site of an original spring.” He was pretty good at this.

They came across a large stone building, drifts of tourists accompanying actual guides wandering in and out. Lance didn’t want to risk her hearing an actual guide so he didn’t dare get close enough to hear what they were saying.

“This is the Palace of Spain. The Empress used to live here in the uh, seventeen hundreds.” He was pretty sure Spain had an Empress at some point.

“And here is a pond, with a statue in the middle. The statue is of uh, a lady mourning her um, dead husband? Anyway, when Julius Caesar invaded, he had this whole area planted with trees, because Spain was so hot.”

Allura laughed. “You’re amazing, Lance.” She took his arm. “Come on, I want to hear what else you have to say.”

“Well this guy on horse is um, Christopher Columbus, obviously.”

Lance was about to suggest they head to the beach, since at least he knew what _that_ was when Allura’s phone rang. “ _Ho-la”_ she answered it and then spoke in fluent Spanish.

“What time? Yes, later. Of course you can. No I wasn’t.” She laughed. “I’ll see you then.”

When she hung up, and turned to Lance he folded his arms. “You’re not actually a tourist, are you?”

“You are definitely not a guide.”

“Yeah, uh.” He heaved a sigh and stared at his feet. “I just wanted to talk to you.”

“You’re pretty funny. I had a good time.”

“Really?” He stared at her. She didn’t seem to be joking.

“We should do it again sometime.“

Barcelona was _definitely_ his favourite.


	6. Shiro/Keith Pre-Kerberos Canonverse

Keith didn’t really know why, but Takashi Shirogane wanted to be his friend. The older cadet was friendly with everyone, but he made a bit of extra effort with Keith. Keith wasn’t short on people wanting to be his friend, but they always seemed to think he was something he wasn’t. They wanted to compare scores, to compete with him, and Keith didn’t see the point.

He loved flying. He didn’t really care for how it made him equally resented and desired.

Keith figured Shiro knew how that felt, and maybe that’s why he wanted to be friends. Keith wanted to be friends too, sometimes more than he could really explain, but it didn’t come easily to him. He knew he came across as polite, not friendly, but didn’t know how to be any other way.

Don’t give up on me, he thought, as he watched Shiro swap jokes with the cadets in his year. Shiro glanced over; maybe he’d felt him staring, and when he met Keith’s eyes he smiled. Keith wanted to walk over, join the group at Shiro’s side, but he couldn’t make his feet move and the moment passed.

One evening soon after that, Shiro approached him as he was putting away his meal tray. They were given a couple of hours after dinner for recreation and study, and when Shiro tilted his head and said, “Come on?” Keith nodded and followed without hesitation.

Shiro led him past the simulation rooms and the gym and outside. The stars were so bright in the desert; one of the reasons the Garrison was out here. Keith could smell sagebush and machine oil and stone as the wind ruffled his hair.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Shiro said, matter-of-factly.

“Then why are we?” Keith asked, folding his arms.

Shiro smiled, “You’re so straightforward.” Keith didn’t know how to reply. “I guess because I wanted to.” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought you might like it, but I mean you don’t have to.”

“Let’s go,” Keith said firmly. He didn’t even know where they were going, and he realised it didn’t matter. He’d follow him anyway.

The rumours were Shiro was being considered for the next exploration expedition, and Keith thought about him up among the stars, and decided he’d follow him there, too.


	7. Shiro/Ulaz No War Doctor AU

“Exterior testicles,” Ulaz read out loud.

Thace shuddered. “That sounds pretty painful. What kind of evolutionary dead end have you been assigned?”

“That’s hardly your area of expertise, Ulaz,” Kolivan said. “This isn’t a holiday; you’re not there to fraternise.”

“I’m going to the imaginatively-named Earth to work with humans,” Ulaz said, ignoring Kolivan. “They’ve been unusually open, even eager, to integrate our medical technology with their local practices. Which are,” he scrolled through the data. “Primitive and horrifying and remarkably like our own were once.”

“That’s unusual,” Thace said. “Then again, if I’d spent my life with my gonads on the outside I don’t think anything much would scare me either.”

Ulaz truly loved being on the cutting-edge, sometimes literally, of extraterrestrial integration medicine. It was remarkable to work with a new species and share knowledge; each new lifeform brought new challenges, new mysteries. And despite Kolivan’s warnings, he really had no intention of fraternising with the locals.

Earth was chaotic, like most newly-integrated planets. Each was unique, but some things remained the same; the space-port that managed to look both impressive and hopelessly small, the cluster of businesses inside set up specifically to cater to alien travellers, the endless bureaucracy, and the packed viewing decks as the locals came to see alien life for the first time.

Ulaz’s first impression of humans were that they were slightly on the small side, and not terribly threatening. They were smooth creatures, with a great deal of variety in their manes, but not so much in their body types. Tiny teeth and ears, and small, dexterous hands with only vestigial claws. His information told him they could be easily offended and warlike, so appearances were deceiving, but the humans that greeted him were taking extra pains to be polite.

There was a research centre for extraterrestrial medicine set up close to the spaceport, and after a short hover-car ride with human sent to meet him, he was introduced to his new colleagues. The centre was clearly well funded, and Ulaz peered out the window at the local flora in the garden outside. He didn’t see any wildlife, but if experience told him anything he’d be introduced to some at the earliest opportunity because it always made for good publicity.

He was given a tour and shown to his assigned office. He’d be at a loose end for a few days until they’d worked out how to slot him into the workflow and given him time to acclimatise, which was fine. There was accommodation attached to the centre, and after he’d memorised where his room was he went out to explore on his own, and just get used to the alien sun on his skin.

He was strolling down the gravel path to the front gates when someone called to him.

“Excuse me! Wait a moment, please.”

The human appeared to have been exercising, his clothes damp with sweat as he jogged over to catch up. Ulaz was by no means expert yet, but he thought this was a prime, healthy specimen, his eyes bright and clear, and the teeth he could see through his smile seemed in good condition. A new colleague perhaps.

“Greetings.”

“You’re galra, right?” The human regarded him with evident interest, his dark eyes sweeping him up and down without any sign of fear.

“I am.”

“I wanted to thank you.” He held out his right hand. Ulaz had already noticed it was a prosthetic, but he hadn’t registered how rare it would be at this early stage for a human to have one like it. Not a colleague then; a patient.

Ulaz had done his reading on greeting rituals and he shook the human’s hand.

“Galra tech,” Ulaz said, recognising it instantly.

“First of its kind attached to a human, they tell me. It’s brilliant.” His grin was brilliant. “I still have to pass some tests before I’m cleared to fly again,” he said. “But I know I will.” He rubbed the back of his neck, in a surprisingly galran gesture of awkwardness. “I just wanted to, you know, meet a galra and yeah. Uh, welcome to Earth! I’m Shiro by the way.”

Quiznak he’s adorable.

“My name is Ulaz. Thank you.”

“Ulaz.” He tested the name out and seemed to find it agreeable. “Anyway, I’ve got to keep training. I’ll be here for a couple of weeks yet, so I’ll see you about. I want to hear all about the galra!” he called as he jogged off again.

Ulaz watched him go, starting to be convinced that a bit of fraternisation was probably fine. Just as long as Kolivan didn’t find out.


	8. Thace/Ulaz Canonverse

Thace wasn’t much good at following Kolivan’s rules, but he’d never felt any particular need to break this one before. He understood the wisdom of the Blade operatives working alone; the Empire watched everything, and should a Blade be discovered, all their contacts would be under suspicion.

But he had to know, just this once. Because Ulaz might be more of a liability than an asset.

He’d done his research like he would with any mark, and he knew when and where Ulaz tended to go on his downtime; one of the smaller bars on the leisure deck, frequented by medical personnel.

Thace stood out a bit here, which wasn’t ideal, but no one seemed to pay him a lot of attention. Ulaz was sitting hunched over at a table, playing with something on a data pad.

He looked up as Thace approached, but didn’t say anything, not even after he took the seat across from him.

“Saleeg,” Thace said. “You remember him?”

Ulaz didn’t look up from his data pad. “A difficult operation. So many of them are.” Not a flicker of anything. Typical surgeon, Thace thought. He didn’t like him.

“He’s dead because of you.” Did he not _know_ Saleeg was a Blade? Thace had to find out in case he wasn’t just cold-blooded but a traitor as well.

“Yes.” Ulaz looked over at him. “The druids were disappointed.” Ulaz let him see it, the weariness, the crushing burden. A doctor murdering a patient and comrade on the operating table because the alternatives were worse.

Thace shook his head. “I see.” He couldn’t say ‘I’m sorry.’ “Buy you a drink?” he asked instead.

The lines on Ulaz’s face softened somewhat, and Thace realised he was probably younger than Thace himself was. “I never turn down a free drink,” he said.

They didn’t say anything else, not until they bid each other farewell, but it was easier to breathe, just for a little while. Maybe he’d go back sometime.


	9. Allura/Kolivan Canonverse

“Pizza roll?” Hunk, bless him, was doing his best.

The meeting fell apart after that, although Allura struggled gamely on. She knew what the representatives were thinking; if she couldn’t keep track of five paladins, how could she possibly lead a rebellion? She had to project confidence, and hide her anger at Keith for so visibly undermining what authority she had. Shiro was important, but the rest of the galaxy more so.

Somehow what should have been a mighty victory had melted away to nothing, or so it felt. Finally, painfully, the meeting ended. The remaining paladins couldn’t get out of there quickly enough, and Coran took one look at Allura’s face and took it upon himself to escort their guests out. He kept sounding cheerful at least; what would she do without him?

Kolivan hadn’t said much after he’d given his strategic analysis, fading into the background as much as it was possible for someone of his size to do. They had a long way to go before their allies trusted the Blade. Something else to worry about.

Allura slumped in her chair, wondering which of the dozen problems on her plate she needed to worry about first. Eventually she realised Kolivan hadn’t moved.

She rallied, forcing a smile and standing to approach him. “Is there something you need, Kolivan?” She really couldn’t read him, although she tried to, as he regarded her steadily.

“Did you do something different with your hair?” he asked.

Allura’s brain did not compute. The question was so unexpected as to be almost unintelligible, and she gaped at him for a few moments. Kolivan looked a bit startled himself, as if he’d spoken out loud what he’d intended to keep to himself.

“Uh, yes.” Allura supposed he’d never seen her with her hair down before. She’d always been dressed for battle in his presence. “I mean, I just let it down.” She resisted the urge to touch it, make sure it was still in place.

“It’s very nice, Princess,” he offered, and bowed. “I should be going.”

“Thank you,” she said, for the compliment or for his help she wasn’t sure, but the corners of his mouth turned up the same.

He’d been gone for several doboshes when Allura realised she’d been staring into space, smiling gently, and she shook her head. “Focus,” she muttered. It was meaningless, probably, but nevertheless she was cheered as she strode off to put out the next fire, flipping her hair a little as she went.


	10. Allura/Lance Canonverse

Lance tried not to lean over Keith’s chair like a kid in the back seat awaiting their first glimpse of the ocean, but he wasn’t sure he was fooling him. He was just so happy to be back; at several points he never really thought he’d actually live to see the smooth, somehow welcoming shape of the Castle of Lions again.

Yes, he still missed Earth, but he was starting to feel like the giant ship was home as well.

Allura would be waiting for him, he hoped. She knew he was on his way back, and he’d missed her, more than he’d expected to, as each disaster and delay kept them apart he found she occupied his spare thoughts more and more. He hoped she’d missed him. Just a little, maybe?

Keith’s ship passed into the Castle’s docking bay, and Lance took a deep breath, and tugged on his armour to make sure it was sitting right. Stretchy. Kinda cool although he’d never have admitted it when Keith was the only one who got to wear it. He wondered how many spares the Blades actually had.

Anyway, paladin armour was probably cooler overall, but he thought he looked pretty sexy in the Marmora gear. He was hoping Allura would agree.

Allura and Coran were waiting for them when Keith’s ship docked, and Lance made one last pass at his hair before he hurried out to greet them before Keith was even out of the pilot’s seat.

Lance felt his face stretching into a grin. I missed you. _I missed you._

“Welcome back, Lance!” Coran greeted him with a smile.

Allura’s expression was harder to read. “Lance. Just what in the galaxy are you wearing?” she sounded angry, her brow furrowed.

Lance felt something cold and unpleasant form in his stomach as his mood plummeted. “You uh, don’t like it?”

“I do not.” She folded her arms. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“Uh. Well, I didn’t expect a welcome back party or anything. Although it would have been nice.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Lance, just because we coped with your absence doesn’t mean we can do without you. I will be having words with Kolivan.”

“Wait, what? Kolivan? Why?”

“I do not give permission for you to join the Blade.”

“Huh? I’m not joining the Blade.” Lance blinked at her. “You thought? Cause of this suit? No no no, I’m just borrowing it. My disguise got all beat up so they gave me this. I can take it off right now if you want-”

He didn’t get very far because Allura stepped forward and hugged him, just as he’d imagined. “Oh Lance, I’m sorry. I just-” She squeezed him so hard he felt his ribs creak. She didn’t know her own strength, but he wouldn’t have protested even if she’d cracked them. “So many times we thought you weren’t coming back at all. I got used to expecting the worst. I keep losing people.”

He hugged her back, cautiously, but she didn’t let go when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Hey, uh. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easily,” he said, breathing in the smell of her hair, her breath on his neck. “I’m gonna stick with this ‘til the end.” He couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

She drew back and smiled at him. “Welcome back, Lance.”

Welcome home, he thought.


	11. Keith/Lance Canonverse

When Keith returned to the Castle of Lions he brought his mother with him. Krolia introduced herself with formal intensity that apparently came naturally to the galra, and immediately started talking about battle plans. Her focus was on the empire’s weapons development, and she seemed entirely nonplussed by the warm welcome she’d received.

Yep, Lance could see the resemblance.

“I’m just glad they got to meet,” Hunk said. “I mean, what are the odds? The universe is huge.”

“So what do you think of her?” Lance asked.

“I dunno. She didn’t say much. All the Blades are like that though. I’m sure we’ll get to know her and things will turn out fine. I’m gonna bake her some cookies. That always breaks the ice.”

“Or your teeth.”

“Come on, man, that was one time. What do you think anyway?”

“I’m not sure I can cope,” Lance said. “Now we’ve got two hot aliens with big knives and no social skills wandering about the castle.”

“Lance.” Hunk looked worried.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous. I mean, damn. You can see where he gets it from. Those cheekbones for a start.”

“I really think-”

“Legs for days,” Lance said dreamily. “That uniform is like-”

“I’m here, you know,” Keith said, and Lance nearly fell off the kitchen bench. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were flushed and Lance was so dead.

“Hunk, why didn’t you say something?”

“I gotta go look for uh, cinnamon. In the uh. Well, I’m sure Pidge can synthesize some. Actually that’s a pretty good idea. Hi Keith. Bye Keith.” Hunk edged out of the room and hurried down the corridor.

A deeply awkward silence descended.

“So what you said,” Keith began.

“I’m sorry! I won’t even look at her, I promise. Cross my heart.”

Keith actually smiled. “You think I’m worried about her? And you?”

“I’ll have you know I’m very popular,” Lance said cautiously. Maybe there was hope he’d escape alive after all.

“Uh huh.” Keith wandered into the room, looking at the mess Hunk had started making. “Kinda missed this place.”

“We missed you too,” Lance said. Why was this conversation going so well? What had happened to him out there?

Keith was watching him, staring at him so intently he started to wonder if he had space-flour on his face or something. Eventually Keith shook his head, and turned to go, his hand drifting up to his face.

“Cheekbones, huh?” he said softly, leaving Lance standing there for a good thirty tics before he had the wit to go after him.


	12. Shiro/Sendak Canonverse AU

“It’s a cloning facility,” Shiro said, and he could hear Kolivan on the other end of his communicator, saying nothing but giving permission nevertheless for him to abandon what probably wasn’t a source of vital information and abort the mission. He didn’t. He could handle this.

He wasn’t a paladin any more, but he could do his bit; couldn’t do any less, couldn’t bear the thought of doing nothing. Onwards then.

It was all horribly familiar, but the darkened tanks were far too big to house a human, and Shiro wasn’t worried about seeing his own face when he finally managed to find the controls to the centre and turned them on. He didn’t see his own face. He wasn’t prepared for it to be quite so familiar though.

Sendak’s one eye was shut, and his fur waved gently in purplish fluid. Shiro had seen him like this once before–and had ejected him into spac–and now he wondered if the Sendak rampaging around the galaxy was the same individual, or yet another clone.

“It’s Sendak,” he said, for Kolivan’s benefit.

“Hm. She does like her redundancies. Let’s deprive her of this one. I don’t expect we’ll find much else, but download the local data anyway.”

Shiro went over to the console and started the download before turning and gazing at Sendak. This arsehole deserved-. No, _this_ arsehole had done nothing, and Shiro reached up and put his hand on the glass.

He was still unsettling. Shiro’s heart beat with a fight or flight response just looking at him, but Shiro wasn’t a prisoner to his memories the way he had been once. He wondered how many memories came preloaded.

There was only one way to find out. The data finished downloading, and he retrieved the chip before returning to the tank. Rather than going for the controls, he he drew back his fist. He didn’t want to use his full power, so it took him several taps to shatter the glass, and he stepped out of the way as a wave of fluid gushed out of the tube.

He stepped back in again as Sendak’s sodden body crumpled, his hair matted and flat against his skin. Shiro lowered him to the floor, grunting under the weight of the galra, and he wondered if Sendak was actually going to wake up.

A cough, a great spasming of that alien body, and one glowing eye opened slowly. Blinked.

“The Champion?” Sendak growled. “What-where is this?” he looked about in angry bewilderment, his claws flexing.

“It’s complicated,” Shiro said. “If you want to get out of here, you’ll have to trust me.” He stood over Sendak and offered his hand, prepared to ignite it and drive it through his neck if need be.

Sendak’s mouth twitched unhappily as he weighed his options.

He grasped Shiro’s hand.


End file.
